On November 26, Naturaleza Encendida will open its doors for the second year in a row in Tierno Galván. The light show will return to the headquarters in 2023 despite neighborhood clashes that have arisen due to the privatization of this space and will once again restrict access to a large part of the park for more than a month.
Neighborhood residents, who had already demonstrated against the installation last year, will take to the streets again on the day of the inauguration to stop all private activity in public space. “The Tierno Galván Park is its own inalienable heritage, which the municipal government must protect, always preserving its public character and open to the use and enjoyment of citizens without allowing, much less promoting, the privatization of its use” , they denounce in a press release. . neighborhood associations in the area.
The residents consider that the transfer by the Arganzuela Authority of the park to a private company for more than a month constitutes “an unjustifiable aggression against our urban nature and the protection of fauna, flora and ecosystems in general, an deprivation of rights of Madrid”. citizens and a violation of town planning rules. They point to the capital’s City Hall as the main culprit and rely on the example of other cities that have managed to prevent the installation of Naturaleza Encendida in their public spaces: “Madrid promotes what Barcelona prohibits and Bilbao does not not allowed.”
The organizing associations consider that the authorization granted by the Authority to the show “represents an attack on the rights of Madrid citizens” and a “serious violation” of the General Ordinance for the Protection of the Urban Environment (OGPMAU). In addition, they highlight the behavior of the Town Hall as “negligent” in defending the environment by authorizing light pollution of this green space and by not applying what is established in the fourth complementary provision of Law 34/ 2007 from November 15 on the air. Quality and protection of the atmosphere against light pollution.
Neighborhood groups assure that the light pollution emitted by Naturaleza Encendida also affects neighboring buildings which are invaded by the beams of light projected into their windows and which already suffered during the last edition. They defend that green spaces are essential elements for the quality of life of citizens and cannot be subjected to light pollution because “it represents an alteration of the biological cycles of the species that inhabit them”.
It is for this reason that they will take to the streets next Tuesday to defend public space and demand that the Madrid City Council immediately stops the privatization of the Tierno Galván park, withdrawing the license for the Naturaleza Encendida show and preventing the use of this green space for uses other than those established by town planning regulations. In turn, they ask that the Noise and Thermal Pollution Protection Ordinance or the Air Quality and Sustainability Ordinance extend its protection to light pollution, including what is established in the fourth additional provision of Law 34/2007 of November 15, and develop their corresponding sanction regime.
Behind this call are the associations Delicias para Tod@s, El Barrio no se tala, Nudo Sur, Pasillo Verde Imperial and Ecologistas en Acción. The gathering will take place on November 26 at 6:00 p.m. on the esplanade next to the Planetarium.
The “eventdrome” in the courts
Even though neighbors had been denouncing the indiscriminate use of the park for private events for more than a year, it was only in the spring that they began to actively mobilize. The celebration of numerous music festivals was the trigger. At the end of August, residents learned that Madrid City Hall was studying the idea of the former vice-mayor, Begoña Villacís, to place a Ferris wheel in Tierno Galvánsomething that completely outraged the neighbors.
Previously, the President Councilor of Arganzuela developed a decree with which she sought to give legal coverage to the use of green spaces for the installation of “events subject to the regulation of public shows and recreational activities” with the intention to avoid municipal regulations. which prohibit conducting private business in public parks. Faced with this situation, the neighbors decided to appeal the decree with an appeal for reconsideration, but this was rejected.
Manuel Díaz, president of the Delicias para Tod@s association, explained in statements to this newspaper that “this municipal regulation on the use of public parks is not only violated, but it also omits several obligatory phases of any administrative procedure , like the public hearing and previous reports. It is for this reason that they decided, a few weeks ago, to resort to legal action through the Contentious-Administrative Tribunal and the appeal was admitted for processing.
The Town Hall defends the light show
The vice mayor of Madrid and spokesperson for the municipal government, Inmaculada Sanz, announced this Thursday, during the press conference following the government meeting, that Naturaleza Encendida would significantly reduce its space compared to last year . The spokesperson emphasized that, in this edition, the occupied area will be much smaller, which will allow a larger part of the park to remain open to the public during all days of the festival.
He further defended its installation in the public park: “This project, which was already carried out last year, seems to us to be positive for the city of Madrid, and that is why it has been authorized again .” Sanz considers that Naturaleza Encendida does not generate “any type of noise beyond the musical atmosphere” of the event. Likewise, it ensures that measures have been taken to ensure that inconvenience to neighbors is minimal.
The municipal government considers this festival to be a positive cultural and leisure alternative for the city. They assure that they also seek to make their celebration compatible with the daily enjoyment of the park by neighbors: “The use and enjoyment of the park will be much better and in better conditions than in previous editions.”
